The safe and effective treatment of ballast water is of utmost importance. And – due to the implementation of the International Maritime Organization Ballast Water management Convention and United States Coast Guard regulat – it is now an absolute necessity.
Serious threat
“The spread of aquatic invasive species is now recognized as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and the economic well-being of the planet,” says Dag Moxnes, Managing director of GEA Norway.
Purpose-built, ballast water treatment systems
For nearly 40 years, GEA has been known as a reliable supplier of heavy fuel oil, lubrication and diesel oil separators for marine engines, formerly under the brand name Westfalia Separator. Over the past 15 years, GEA has established its position as well to become one of the marine industry’s premier suppliers of Bilge Water separators, and more recently, of ballast water treatment systems.
“GEA have the solution, regardless of ballast water capacity or vessel size from offshore vessels right through to very large crude carriers or chemical carriers where EX type approved equipment is normally required. We deliver a full range of systems that are able to treat any flow rate throughout all water qualities,” says Dag Torbjørnsen, Manager Marine.
Extensive network
GEA has more than 65 offices worldwide, supporting marine installations on board vessels. GEA logistics centers in Germany, Singapore and the United States are the main distributors of spare parts to customers and international service network.
Compact footprint
Particularly onboard sailing vessels, it is always challenging to find suitable space for new equipment. GEA has partnered with Canadian-based Trojan Marinex.
The Trojan Marinex ballast water treatment system provides filtration + UV in a single, compact unit, enabling an extremely compact footprint. In addition, systems have been tested and approved in freshwater, brackish water and marine water, and to one of the lowest UV transmittance values in the industry (under full flow conditions).
The systems are now part of the GEA ballast water treatment product line, under the product name GEA Westfalia Separator BallastMaster marinex, powered by Trojan Marinex.
In polar waters
For world-famous Hurtigruten – a coastal passenger and cargo service covering the west coast from Bergen northwards – safety of passengers, ships and the environment is of utmost importance. Naturally, this also applies to Polar water operations.
The Hurtigruten vessel MS Fram had the BallastMaster marinex system installed before it embarks summer voyages to Greenland 2015. Recently, the Hurtigruten vessel MS Midnatsol was also signed up for the system.
“In this case, we chose GEA as our partner because we believe in the logical simplicity of their system. Also, we have good experience on existing products such as separators and with the GEA service organization in Norway,” says Frode Hernar, Technical Director at a Hurtigruten ASA in Tromsø.
